


Undo my heart, unzip my body

by azuki



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Coping, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Prostitution, Tahko, mako is an oblivious ass and bad at his job, set nebulously after s1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-04
Updated: 2014-10-04
Packaged: 2018-02-19 20:06:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2401265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/azuki/pseuds/azuki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To say he was drunk right now would be to say that the sun was hot. It described the situation accurately, but lacked the sort of emphasis that helped to bring the full picture into focus.</p><p>He was /trashed/.</p><p>--</p><p>Mako's life was never simple, and chance encounters with Tahno didn't make it any simpler. Will he be able to stand his ground against the waterbender's swift currents, or will he be swept away?</p><p>(!! The non-con is not between canon characters !!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Undo my heart, unzip my body

**Author's Note:**

> So.....this got away from me. Originally I wanted to write a fic where Mako sleeps around with a bunch of people, including Tahno, after finding out his ex-girlfriends are dating. Instead this sloppy, meandering, pointless, unproofread thing happened, and I'm sorry to say it's barely romantic at all.
> 
> I'm just gonna leave this here and go hide in shame now, thank you.

To say he was drunk right now would be to say that the sun was hot. It described the situation accurately, but lacked the sort of emphasis that helped to bring the full picture into focus.

 

He was _trashed_.

 

And, and, and, why shouldn't he be? What other response would be more appropriate to finding out that his ex-girlfriend, CEO of Future Industries, had been hooking up with his other ex-girlfriend, the _Avatar_ , behind his back this whole time while he thought they were having this on-again, off-again tension that was frustrating and annoying as heck but also kinda hot? But no, it turns out the entire time she'd – didn't matter which _she_ , as it apparently applied to both of them equally – been rolling around in the sheets with – with _her_!

 

Mako leaned against a lamp post for support as he contemplated how confusing pronouns could be. And then he gave himself just a moment to contemplate the image of Korra and Asami in bed together, because, _hell_ o. But only a moment because then he got angry and frustrated again and kicked the lamp post, which had done nothing to earn Mako's ire but be a solid object to lean on in his time of need. He kicked it again, firebending this time. The lamp post continued to be unimpressed. He was lucky it was so late, and all the good citizens of Republic City were asleep in their beds instead out here witnessing their newest rookie beat cop slip down into the lowest of the low point in his life. Considering he'd grown up eating out of the trash, that was saying something.

 

He wasn't as alone as he thought he was, though.

 

“Well well, if it isn't Muh-ko, the Avatar's little boyf – oh wait, no. How could I forget yesterday's headline? _Avatar's Lesbian Scandal_ kind of burns into your mind. ”

 

Mako clutched onto the comforting cold iron of the lamp post as he lifted his head and struggled to focus on the figures in front of him. Figure, he realized, as the hazy doubles wobbled and meshed into one tall, skinny, smirking asshole.

 

“Tah-” Mako stumbled, even though he hadn't been moving. The ground had just suddenly turned into liquid. “-no,”

 

“What'er you doing round my neck of the woods, lawman?” Tahno drawled, “I don't know how up you are on current events, but I've gone straight, you know,” he paused, “Well. I _mean_ I've been keeping my hands clean. Nothing you can arrest me for.”

 

Mako was confused. Why was Tahno here? What was he saying? He was saying _words_ , Mako realized, and leaned close to concentrate. Tahno had that look on his face, the one that made Mako want to punch it off of him. Was that Tahno's regular face or did he have other ones?

 

“I can arresess....arressestess...I can take you in f'r insub...insubord....” he was trying his hardest, really. “I can take you in for being an ass,” That was more or less what he intended to say. Tahno raised an eyebrow, then leaned in and sniffed the air.

 

“Wee-hoo, boy, you are gone, pretty boy,” Tahno said, waving at the air. He was still smirking. Mako scowled at him. Who did he think he was? If anyone was the pretty boy in this situation, it was the one wearing eyeliner. A.K.A, not him. “Takin' the news a little hard, aren't you? What's wrong? Hurts to be rejected, doesn't it? For another girl? Oh, wait, you dated both of them, didn't you? Your love life was very public.” He had a delighted expression on his face. “Think they sit up all night laughin' about your tiny dick?”

 

“My dick is not tiny,” Mako protested, waving a finger in Tahno's face. In the direction he assumed Tahno's face to be. Generally. Tahno caught his wrist easily in Mako's inebriated state and twisted it behind his back.

 

“I'm sure, lawman,” Tahno said, that annoying drawl right by Mako's ear. Tahno's hot breath breezed faintly across his neck, and Mako shuddered. “Someday you'll have to prove it to me,” he let go of Mako's arm and Mako whirled around – too fast – and fell straight on his ass. Distantly he registered the sound of Tahno laughing, which abruptly stopped when he hurled all over the ground and, apparently, Tahno's shoes as well.

 

Sleep sounds great right about now, Mako thought, and everything seemed far away as he closed his eyes and floated.

 

* * *

 

 

Last night came back to Mako in scraps. He'd been drinking. He'd been drinking quite a bit. It had actually started the morning previous, when the papers came out splashed with Korra and Asami's smiling faces on the front page, because apparently Republic City had nothing better to talk about than the Avatar's love life. It wasn't like there was any _crime_ that needed reporting, or anything.

 

He'd known for weeks about their relationship before the story ran. They'd come to Mako and told him directly. They wanted to make sure that Mako didn't get the wrong idea, that they still cared about him but, they'd said with their hands clasped together, they'd found something special with each other and wanted everyone to know. His relationship with Korra had ended long before, and with Asami, even longer than that, and so he really had no right to feel one way or the other about it, didn't he?

 

So he just congratulated them in the nicest voice he could manage to drum up and then proceeded to avoid them entirely. Avoidance was always a solid strategy when feelings got too weird and confusing. Except then the papers got a hold of the news, so Mako had spent yesterday morning with a shot of liquid courage to bolster himself before stepping out. And then another one at work even though he knew it was a bad idea, but his co-workers kept coming up to him and shoving that damned paper in his face and jeering and he lost his temper and fought back and it wasn't long before Chief Bei Fong came out of her office and tossed him out on the street by the scruff shouting “and don't come back til you can keep from turning my Force into a circus, rookie!”

 

And well, he didn't really have anywhere to go after that. So he went to the bar. And then to another bar. And then at some point he remembered running into Tahno and there was a lamp post and – huh.

 

He looked around. He wasn't in his own bed, that was certain. He was sitting in a lumpy futon with a thin, stained cover tangled around his waist in a rather small apartment. The walls were yellowish and the only window had mold creeping around the frame, which was open to the sound of noisy honking and people shouting. Bright sunlight filtered in and Mako shielded his eyes, belatedly realizing that his head was pounding.

 

“Aagh...” he shut his eyes and put his hands over them, trying to block out the light.

 

“Finally up, sleeping beauty?”

 

“Bwuh?” Mako turned his head – carefully – and coming out of the bathroom was Tahno, a cloud of steam escaping from the open door behind him. His wavy hair was damp and mussed, and droplets of water clung to his bare skin. He held a towel around his waist loosely. “What are _you_ doing here?” Mako managed to say. Tahno chuckled, sitting down in the only chair at a small rickety table.

 

“I live here, what about you?”

 

“I...I was...” he looked down at himself. He was in his underclothes. “Where are my clothes?”

 

Tahno gestured out the window, where Mako could see the end of a clothesline attached. “Washed 'em. Couldn't get your nasty bile outta my shoes, though. You owe me a new pair.”

 

Mako blinked and sluggishly looked round. He felt like he was on a case and didn't have all of the evidence. “Why am I...in your apartment?”

 

“Hey, I wasn't about to leave a bright and shiny new cop passed out on streets of Republic City's nicest slums. I might be a cheater but I'm not a bad guy,”

 

Was that true? Mako's hungover brain couldn't tell his ass from his ears right now, so he was inclined to take everything at face value.

 

“Did we...sleep together?” He asked tentatively. Tahno grinned.

 

“Last night? You couldn't even stand up straight, let alone get your own clothes off. Why? Do you want to?”

 

Mako made a face that he hoped indicated how very much he did _not_ want that.

 

“Just sayin', offer's there. You might be an uptight cop but you sure are easy on the eyes.”

 

Mako opened his mouth to tell Tahno off but his stomach revolted at that exact moment and instead he had to clamp a hand over his lips. Tahno gestured to the bathroom he had emerged from. Mako darted inside, barely hearing Tahno say “you get any on the floor, you're cleaning it up,” as he bent his head into the toilet and relieved his stomach of its contents. He wasn't sure, but he might have flushed what was left of his dignity down with it.

 

When he emerged from the bathroom what felt like hours later, shaky and weak but otherwise feeling much better (aside from the throbbing headache that stubbornly remained), Tahno was dressed and dry. His hair was styled into the familiar fop that Mako remembered from their tournament days, and he was holding out something for Mako to take.

 

His clothes. Mako took them from the waterbender and shrugged them on. They were wrinkled and a little worse for the wear but they smelled clean and were free of stains. Mako was thankful he'd changed out of his uniform before going out last night. Tahno was looking at him with an expectant smirk.

 

“What?”

 

“C'mon, there's a great place I know for breakfast. Your treat.”

 

“Why should I go eat breakfast with you? Besides it's past noon,”

 

Tahno was already out the door and Mako had no choice but to follow, doing up the fastenings on his shirt. “Because breakfast is an always food, lawman, and it's not like you've got anywhere else to be, am I right?'

 

He was, Mako realized with a frown. Bei Fong would take one look at him right now and turn him away again, order him to come back when he was functional. It just stung that to admit that Tahno was right.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Tahno led him down dirty streets not unlike the ones Mako remembered from his youth til they came to a restaurant near a busy market square with a wooden sign painted yellow declaring to to be “Huan's Happiness.” A chicken holding an egg was painted crudely under the words. It wasn't even really so much of a proper restaurant as a cart, with curtains blocking the open window and four stools positioned out front. They parted the curtain and sat down, and Tahno began to place their order with the man behind the counter.

 

“Two hangover specials, with lychee juice,” he said to the man who was presumably Huan. Mako groaned, the smell of food cooking was turning his stomach again. Tahno slapped him on the back. “Don't worry bro, Huan's hangover special is just what you need.”

 

Again, Mako squirmed against admitting that Tahno was right, but it was delicious. A huge, greasy pile of eggs and meat and green onions under a bed of fried rice. They probably could have shared one order between them – or not, he considered, as once he began eating he found his appetite suddenly returning to him. He swallowed a large mouthful and washed it down with the juice when he noticed Tahno looking at him, his own plate hardly touched.

 

“What?” he said suspiciously. Tahno chuckled and reached out his hand, and brushed his thumb gently against the corner of Mako's mouth. Mako could feel his skin tingling and his face heating up. “W-What the hell dude?”

 

“Y'had some rice,” he pointed to the corner of his own lips, “Just right there,”

 

“You could have just told me instead of being creepy,”

 

Tahno only laughed again, that condescending sound, and Mako's temper flared. He slapped a few bills down on the counter and pushed himself off the stool. His flight away was stopped by Tahno's hand on his wrist. Mako kept forgetting about Tahno's strength, that he used to be a pro-bender.

 

“Hold on, lawman. Didn't mean to offend.”

 

“I doubt that,”

 

“ _Really_. Can't you see I'm tryin to build bridges here?”

 

“Why _are_ you being so friendly, anyway? You still haven't answered that,” Mako said, in the tone of voice he usually reserved for interrogations. “You wash my clothes, take me out for food, let me s-sleep in your bed –” His voice cracked as he listed the last item off. Tahno smiled.

 

“I owe a great debt to the Avatar. That's all.” Tahno said. Mako was surprised to hear the lack of snark or sarcasm in Tahno's voice. He was, for once, being completely genuine. Still.

 

“Well, I'm _not_ her, so if it's the Avatar you want to thank you're barking up the wrong tree,” He wrenched his arm out of Tahno's hold.

 

“Am I?”

 

“ _Yes!_ What is that even supposed to mean? You're just saying stuff to make me mad now!”

 

“Not hard to get you riled up, lawman,” Tahno was resting his elbows on the counter behind him, his slouched, relaxed posture a complete foil to the way Mako was standing with his shoulders up and fists clenched.

 

“Stop calling me that! I have a name,”

 

“Didn't realize you thought we were that friendly. Mako,” The way Tahno said his name made a shiver run down Mako's spine, and he put it down to disgust. That had to be why.

 

“Just – ugh, whatever, it's not worth it,” he muttered darkly, and stormed off down the street.

 

“You're welcome, by the way,” Tahno said behind him.

 

* * *

 

 

“Dude! Where have you been?” is how Bolin greeted him when he stepped off the ferry at Air Temple Island, his eyes wide and doing a little dance that meant he had a lot of pent up energy or something he wanted to say. Bolin did the little dance often. “Things are going _nuts_ over here! We looked for you at the station this morning but you weren't there. Wait, you weren't fired were you?” he gasped, “Mako! You were fired? No!”

 

“I wasn't fired,” Mako interrupted. “I was just...uh. Out.”

 

“Oh. Okay.” Bolin took his explanation at face value. “Well, we really could have used you around here last night. Korra was on the warpath. Still is, actually. Which is why I'm out here, waiting for you.”

 

A crashing noise was heard in the direction of the training ground, coupled with shouts of _'corruping the youth_ – of all the nerve! I'll give them corruption –' 'Korra, no, wait – ' ' – morally dubious my _ass_ – ' 'Korra please' ' – who do they think they are, anyway – ' ' – Korra that's antique china – '

 

Bolin flinched. Mako raised an eyebrow. “I'm not sure why you think I'd be able to calm her down. Where's Asami?” Bolin's unhappy frown deepened.

 

“She's at the factory, giving a speech to her shareholders. Apparently, Future Industries stock dropped 2% this morning.”

 

“Is that a significant amount?” Bolin shrugged.

 

“Guess so, do I look like I'd know the first thing about stocks? Just go over there and say something to Korra, please?”

 

Mako sighed. It was the strangest thing, but he wished he was still back at the food cart with Tahno. Sure, the guy was aggravating, but it was an almost peaceful sort of aggravation. Compared to this, anyway.

 

The training ground was ripped to shreds, what was usually level ground now a rocky terrain of hills and dips, and in the center of it, Korra, literally breathing fire as Tenzin stood as far away as possible as he could while still giving the appearance of listening to Korra rant.

 

“Tenzin, they think I'm a bad role model. Which, OK, fine maybe I am sometimes, but not because of _this_! There is _nothing wrong_ with Asami and I –” Mako cleared his throat.

 

“Oh! Mako!” Tenzin said, sounding joyful. “Good, you're here. I'm just going to. Uh. Go...over...there....” With each word he took another step farther away, til at last he turned on his heels and took off at a dead run away from the carnage. Korra stared. Mako suspected he'd been brought in less as a peacekeeper and more as a human meatshield.

 

“Mako...hey.”

 

“Hey.”

 

He rubbed his arm. Korra looked everywhere but where he was standing. No, it wasn't awkward at all. He coughed.

 

“So...”

 

“So...um. I guess you've read the paper,”

 

“I caught a glance at it, yeah.” He lied casually. “Didn't read the article though. I'm guessing it wasn't flattering?”

 

It was the wrong thing to say. “Wasn't _flattering_?” Korra began, “Flattering! They called me a 'demon seductress' and now Asami is my 'faithful harlot' and we're apparently on a quest to trick the world's children down a dark path of homosexual orgies!”

 

“Well, sign me up,” he joked. Korra looked at him. “Ok, nevermind. Pretend I just didn't say that.”

 

Korra groaned and sat on the ground, curling her hands around her knees and bending into them. She sighed deeply. “I already had so much to deal with cleaning up after the Equalists, and next month I'm supposed to leave with Tenzin for airbending training, and now all this mess...”

 

“Maybe it wasn't the best time to start a controversial lesbian scandal, then.” Korra punched him. “Ow! Hey!”

 

“It wasn't like I knew Republic City would react like this. I don't even know if it's because I'm the Avatar, or because we're both girls. Nobody seemed to care when I was going out with _you_. And back home, it wasn't so weird for two people of the same sex to be together. I mean, it wasn't really talked about, but it was there.”

 

Mako's thoughts drifted to Tahno in that moment. The way he hadn't let up, that entire afternoon, teasing and flirting Mako into an early grave. He hadn't seemed to care that Mako was a man, or who else overheard him propositioning him. And homosexuality wasn't illegal anymore, it hadn't been since Mako was a kid. Some of the older folks still fainted at such deviancy, but the average person wasn't likely to bat an eye. Still, there was a sizeable group of people who thought that it was morally wrong, like a disease. And, as someone whose job it was to lead people to balance, Korra's problem...was most definitely Avatar-related. He zoned back in, she was still speaking.

 

“ – and I can't even leave the island without getting mobbed by press! I'm surprised they haven't all found a way over here to stake out my bedroom, or something.”

 

Mako scoffed.

 

“You're telling me? I got jeered out of the office yesterday by the guys. They wouldn't let up about the fact that both of my ex-girlfriends left me for each other.”

 

“Oh, _excuse_ me, I didn't realize that you were having such a hard time handling something that had nothing to do with you, poor baby!”

 

“It does have to do with me, people are saying that _I'm_ the reason you turned away from guys – ”

 

“What? I didn't 'turn' from anything, and neither did Asami! It doesn't work like that! And oh, I feel _so_ sorry for you. _Not_ , are you kidding me? You think you've got it rough?”

 

“What's your problem? I was trying to say that I get what you're going through, and you get all mad at me!”

 

“You have no idea what I'm going through, Mako, you never did, that was our problem!”

 

“Our problem was your need to have total and complete control at all times while I was supposed to just sit there and, and just – kiss you when you asked me to, or something!”

 

“Hah! Asami's better at kissing than you were, anyway,”

 

“Ugh! Coming here was a mistake. I should have just stayed with Tahno,”

 

Korra looked at him incredulously. “Tahno? What does he have to do with anything?”

 

“...nothing. It's not important. I'm going. I've got work to do.”

 

* * *

 

 

He finally, finally managed to return to the station when the sun was already hanging low in the sky, casting long, dark shadows across the city. Chief Bei Fong had taken one look at him and assured him that he wasn't fired, but the next time he came to work drunk and starting fights with other officers, being fired would be the least of his worries. He thanked her and bowed so low his head almost touched his knees.

 

He sat down at his desk with a heavy sigh, and ran his hand through his hair. A stack of paperwork, built up from yesterday, was waiting for him. Ordinarily he hated filing paperwork, but right now, a little boring monotony was just the kind of reprieve he needed. Nothing to think about besides ticking boxes and writing reports. He prepared his pen and took the first sheet off the stack and got to work, drowning out the noise of his co-workers around him.

 

By the time he got to the last sheet and signed his name at the bottom, stuck it with the others and stood up again, it was dark at the station. He stretched out and his back cracked with the strain of having spent too long hunched over. The only light came from the lamp on his desk and the moonlight filtering in through shuttered windows. He was the last person here. Well, not quite. The glow from under Bei Fong's door indicated that she was still holed up in her office, but that wasn't unusual. And the night watch should still be out by the front desk.

 

But when he walked out there the night watchman perked up at seeing him and said, “Hey, kid! Great timing. I'm supposed to be here for another three hours but there's been a family emergency, mind covering? Just this once. Chief already OK'd it.” Well, if that were the case..Mako wasn't really in a position to say no. Though he had his doubts about the night watchman's story. Still, it was only for a few hours. It's not like anything big could happen in that time. Mako shrugged and took the other officer's place.

 

This was preferable, actually, to returning to the Air Temple tonight.

 

He still thought so after sitting there for sixty whole minutes, watching the clock hands tick forward. The chime sounded out one A.M. Mako had already covered the entire back of a scrap paper with mindless doodles, and bent and re-bent every paper clip in the drawer together. He was in the process of twisting the little bits of metal back to their original shape when the front doors to the station opened with such force that Mako jumped up from his seat and immediately settled into a firebending stance. A figure fell through the door and collapsed on the ground. Wait, that wasn't –

 

“Tahno?” Wasn't there some superstition about seeing a person so many times in one day? Regardless, Mako didn't have time to think about it, as he ran front behind the counter to kneel by Tahno's prone form. He was struggling to right himself, one hand propped up and pushing off the ground as the other clutched at his own ribs. Was that – blood? His clothes, which Mako could tell were made of fine material and cut to be flattering – not the same things he was wearing earlier that day – were torn and stained dark with what was, yes, definitely blood. He made to help the other man stand up and Tahno grabbed his collar and clutched it like a lifeline.

 

“ _Hide me_ ,” he hissed, and then groaned, gripping his hand more tightly around his ribcage. Mako startled at the sight of Tahno's face. It had been well beat, one eye swollen purple, lips cracked and bleeding. What alarmed Mako the most was the tiny trickle of blood that was trailing down Tahno's temple, and when he put his hand on Tahno's hair, it came away sticky and red.

 

“What happened? We need to get you to a doctor – ”

 

“No time, you have to hide me, they're gonna – ” Tahno pushed off of Mako and stumbled to the counter, looking around wildly. “ – got to hide – ”

 

“Who did this to you?” Mako questioned. Tahno ignored him and walked around the front desk, clutching the wood paneled surface with every step. When he got to the other side he crawled underneath it, folding his legs up against his chest. He barely fit. “What are you – ”

 

He could hear footsteps coming up the front steps. With one last glance at the man curled under his desk, Mako made a decision he wasn't sure if he'd regret. He sat down in his chair, pushed it as far in as possible, positioning his legs in a way that would obscure Tahno even if someone was looking from the opposite side. He folded his arms on the desk just as two men came storming in – a large, stocky beast of a man with long dark hair and a full beard and a smaller, weaselly looking guy trailing after him. Neither of them looked like they'd seen a police station from any other perspective than from behind cell bars. The most unusual thing about them, however, was the way they were drenched from head to toe.

 

“WHERE IS HE? I KNOW I SAW HIM RUN IN HERE,” the large man boomed, water droplets spraying off the tips of his hair as he swung his head from side to side, searching. The weasel man held up his hand nervously and tried to keep him from stepping forward. He spoke hurriedly in a hushed tone.

 

“Boss, this is the police station, we can't go after 'im here – ”

 

“Evening, gentlemen. Can I help you?” Mako interrupted. Tahno was gripping his legs with iron force but Mako's face remained impassive.

 

“No, no, we were just – ”

 

“Yeah, you can help me, I'm lookin' for a guy. Saw him go in here. Bout this high,” the man gestured to about neck-height. He really was quite intimidatingly large. “Wearin' eyeliner, ridiculous hair?”

 

“I'm afraid I haven't seen anyone who matches that description tonight, sir. In fact, you two are the only ones to visit me all night,” he said, holding up his doodle-wrecked paper as proof. He could feel Tahno's breath on his thigh through the fabric of his uniform-issued pants and struggled to keep his composure. If Tahno should move his head just a little to the right....

 

“I know I saw him,” the man growled.

 

“Are you suggesting that I, a member of the police, would lie?” Mako said, not backing down. “Has this man wronged you in some way? Theft, perhaps? You could file a report right now if you like, and we'll handle it,” he said professionally.

 

“T-that won't be necessary!” the weasel man stuttered, doing his best to usher his bull-headed boss outside. The large man took one last glance around the station. Mako hoped he didn't look down, as the smear of blood that Tahno left on the ground was still there. He didn't, just snorted angrily and let his nervous minion lead him outside. “D-don't worry, boss. We can just stake out his apartment. He's gotta come back there sometime,”

 

The station doors closed behind them. Mako sat still, and waited til he heard the noise of an engine revving and driving away. Then he pulled out the chair and grabbed Tahno, dragging him out from under the desk. Tahno made a small noise of protest. “Okay, explain. Now.”

 

Tahno looked at him with glassy, unfocused eyes. His skin was sheet white, and the dark blood smeared across his features was stark in contrast. He was swaying gently on his feet.

 

“...maybe not right away. I need to take you to the infirmary.” He hoisted Tahno up and slung one arm across his shoulders, supporting Tahno around the waist with his other. “You can still walk, right?”

 

Tahno looked at him with a scathing expression. “They didn't break my feet,”

 

“Looked like they wanted to,”

 

“Wanted a lot of things from me,” he said, his voice faint and faltering.

 

“Almost there, don't die on me, you prick.” Mako said, letting go of Tahno with one hand so he was able to open the infirmary door. Tahno laughed, and the motion of it caused him to recoil with a groan of pain. The infirmary was empty. Mako led Tahno to one of the empty cots and lay him down as gently as he could without jostling anything, then went to rifle through the cabinets for supplies.

 

Tahno giggled and fingered a pair of handcuffs that were cuffed to the frame of the bed, probably left there from whatever unruly sick criminal had been there last. “Mm, why officer, are you planning to tie me to this bed?”

 

“If you're making jokes like that, I know you can't be that badly hurt,” Mako said. This was bad. There was _supposed_ to be someone in the infirmary at all times, but tonight, nothing seemed to be going as it was supposed to. At least, between basically raising Bolin and dating the Avatar, he had more than a passing knowledge of basic first aid techniques. He gathered what he could find and sat down by the bed. Tahno breathing was labored and he was looking up at Mako with focused eyes.

 

“Not a joke,” he said, but it came out more like wheezing. Mako ignored him, and prepped a rag with warm water to begin applying to Tahno's injuries. He gently and methodically wiped away the blood on Tahno's face, relieved to see that most of the wounds were superficial.

 

“Can you sit up just a bit? I need to check the back of your head.” Tahno obeyed, not without difficulty, and Mako pressed a clean cloth to the matted hair there. He rinsed the cloth off, reapplied it, and repeated until the cloth finally came away without blood on it. The cut there was small also, but it was the bruising he had to worry about. It was highly likely Tahno was concussed. And then there was the way he was cradling his arms around his ribs, protectively. “I...need to check there too. You're gonna have to take your shirt off.” What was he wearing, anyway? The top was made of something soft and silky, and shone in the light like an iridescent pearl.

 

Tahno leered at him. “And no weird comments,” he added. Tahno started to raise the edges of his shirt up, but then stopped, hissing in pain. “You can't lift your arms?”

 

“Hurts,” Tahno admitted. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead. Mako pressed his arm to Tahno's side, frowing at the way Tahno gasped and flinched. He probably had a broken rib, at least. Mako told him as much.

 

“This would be easier if you could heal with waterbending,” he said.

 

“I can,” Tahno grunted. “Just...not at the moment... little difficult to focus.”

 

And there was only one other waterbender he knew in Republic City that he would trust to help.

 

* * *

 

 

He cleaned and dressed Tahno's injuries the best he could, hopefully it would be enough til they got to Air Temple Island. Getting the man loaded in the car was an issue, and then Mako had to keep shaking him awake every time he noticed his head lolling back against the seat. At least traffic was clear, this late at night. Korra would probably be sleeping but...

 

Mako glanced at the man shivering in his passenger seat. It couldn't wait. He leaned over and smacked Tahno on the shoulder.

 

“Hey, wake up!” Tahno stirred and looked at him, sluggish and bleary-eyed. “I'm not helping you for free. You need to tell me what just happened. Who were those guys? What did you do to make them so mad?” _And why did I help you,_ he didn't add. That was one he was still puzzling out for himself.

 

“....they felt like...I owed 'em something.” Tahno's voice wavered in and out of coherency. “Didn't wanna give it to 'em so...took it by force...”

 

“Owed? What, like money?” Mako said, keeping his eyes on the road but glancing at his passenger now and again. “So you were lying to me when you said you were keeping your hands clean?”

 

Tahno's laugh was a wet, sick sound. “Nah, lawman, been keeping clean...I told you. These chuckleheads were...”

 

His eyes started to flutter closed, and Mako reached out to shake him again.

 

“Were what?” he said, trying to keep Tahno on his train of thought.

 

“They were. From before.” His voice trailed off and Mako reached out again only to has his hand slapped weakly away. “Stop shaking me dude, 'm tired...”

 

“ _Don't_ fall asleep,” Mako stressed. It didn't matter. They'd arrived at the crossing. He sloppily parked his car and went up to the ferryman, who he argued with for several minutes about letting them cross despite the late hour. “It's an emergency,” he tried, not really wanting to pull the 'I know the Avatar' card at this stage. The ferryman looked back and Tahno and shrugged, before acquiescing.

 

The ride across seemed longer than it had ever been, with Tahno slumped in a corner of the ferry as Mako paced and tried to keep him alert.

 

“What did you mean, they were from before?”

 

“Y'know, before,” Tahno said unhelpfully. He waved one hand in a vague gesture. “Before all that stuff with the...stuff. I don't wanna talk about it,”

 

“Well that's too bad! You come to me, as an officer of the law, and I'm just trying to find out if – ” Tahno was looking away. “Fine, ok. Talk about something else then. Anything.”

 

Tahno giggled again, then frowned. “M'sorry,” he said suddenly.

 

“For what?”

 

“A lot of things,” he said, again completely unhelpfully, before passing out entirely. _Not_ good. Mako was glad he'd managed to stay somewhat upright that long. He carefully lifted the comatose man up and cradled him bridal-style – slightly difficult, considering Tahno was taller than him – and called out to the ferryman.

 

“Hey! Can you hurry it up?”

 

The ferryman grumbled. “I can only go as fast as I can go, boy.” But then he pointed. They were there.

 

* * *

 

 

Mako thought he'd been in a lot of situations that could be described as awkward in his life up til now. He was wrong. They were nothing compared to this. Tenzin, Bolin, Asami, all and sundry stood in front of Mako in their sleeping clothes while Korra was in the next room, using waterbending over Tahno. Mako tried to look around them to tell what was going on, he could see a glimpse of her kneeling over a bed and waving her hands – he hoped he'd gotten here fast enough – but Tenzin stubbornly inserted himself into Mako's line of sight. He was looking expectantly at Mako, arms crossed. An explanation, he realized.

 

It was too bad Mako hardly had one for himself.

 

“I'm sorry to be disturbing everyone so late,” he said, bowing. “I wouldn't have woken you guys up if I didn't think it was an absolute necessity.”

 

“Mako, what were you doing with Tahno at two in the morning? And what happened to him?” Bolin practically shouted, before being shushed by Tenzin.

 

“The children are still sleeping,” he said.

 

“I was covering for the night shift and he came in. He was being chased by these guys...and...he was hurt? But it was more than I could take care of by myself, so I brought him here. I'm more than pretty sure he has a concussion.”

 

“And you didn't think to take him to a hospital?” Asami questioned.

 

Uh. Well. That was an excellent point she brought up. He rubbed at the back of his neck, feeling self-conscious. “I guess I just thought of Korra first,” he said sheepishly.

 

“You don't think whoever was after him would come here?” Penma asked, staying close to her husband's side.

 

“No, I'm sure we weren't followed. Besides, it's probably just over some petty dispute. I couldn't get the full story out of him in that state, but what else could it be? Knowing Tahno.”

 

There was silence.

 

“I don't know, Mako, he looked pretty bad,” Bolin said. “And, I mean, uh? He hasn't really been that bad lately? With starting fights and things. He even came around to the gym once matches resumed to formally apologize for all the cheap shots he took against us.”

 

“Is it really that hard to believe that Tahno could antagonize someone into beating the crap out of him?” Mako said, annoyed at being doubted. Bolin held his hands up in defense.

 

“No, no, not saying that, just maybe you should wait to hear what he has to say,”

 

“It'll have to wait til tomorrow,”

 

Everyone turned to look as Korra stepped out of the side room, shutting the door quietly behind her.

 

“How is – ”

 

“Asleep. He's fine,” Korra said, a dark look in her eyes.

 

“That's good to hear,” Tenzin said, “We can all go back to our beds now. I'm sure we will hear quite the story in the morning, but for now, everyone needs their rest.” He and Penma gently shooed everyone out of the room back to their dormitories. Mako sighed in relief, feeling the adrenaline of the last few hours leave his system like warm water coursing through his veins. He turned to leave with the rest.

 

“Not you,” Korra stopped him, “I need to talk to you.”

 

 

Mako waited til they were alone in the courtyard, sitting on the stone steps underneath a canopy of stars, before he said anything.

 

“I'm sorry,” he blurted out in a rush, “I lost my temper earlier today. I was just stressed, I didn't mean anything I said, and – ”

 

Korra punched him on the shoulder. “It's not about that,” she said. She allowed herself a small smile. “But I accept your apology. It's about your friend inside,” The smile dropped from her face as quick as it had appeared. “Mako, you _need_ to find out what happened to him. The whole story. I think...I think...”

 

“What? What is it?” She had him worried.

 

“When I was healing him, there were...more injuries than what you reported to be,” she said, biting at her thumb. “On his legs, and...I'm not sure if I should even say anything before he wakes up, but...”

 

“What? Korra, tell me everything!” he demanded. Korra glanced at him with apprehensive eyes.

 

“He had really deep bruising all along the inside of his thighs, and inside... _there_.” her voice faltered, it was clearly not something she was comfortable putting into words, “...I think...someone forced him...”

 

Mako felt like someone had froze him in a block of ice.

 

“You think he was raped.”

 

Korra nodded. “You need to talk to him and get the whole story. If I'm right, Mako...”

 

“Let's hope that you're not. I can't deal with something like that right now,” he sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

 

“It's not about you,” Korra said quietly, but firmly. Their conversation from this afternoon resonated in his head.

 

“I _know_ ,” he said, “I know, I didn't mean it like that, I just – ” he exhaled and it turned into another deep sigh, “ – I'm just tired.”

 

“I am too,” she smiled wanly. “C'mon, we should both get to sleep. Morning's already almost here,”

 

* * *

 

 

He slept poorly. To be fair, he'd been sleeping poorly for a long time, the only difference was that for once he had something new to turn over in his brain repeatedly as if he could do something different just by thinking about it really hard. The sun was brightening the sky by the time he gave it up as a lost cause, and decided to just stay awake til it was socially acceptable to get out of bed. It wasn't like he was eager to face what the new day would bring.

 

His body had other plans, because at some point he blacked out, and when he woke up again he could tell by the heaviness of his limbs that he'd slept for hours. Korra was waiting for him just outside the door. “He's awake,” she said, by way of greeting. “Actually, he woke up way before you. Been sleeping in lately?”

 

“Has he said anything? How is he?”

 

“Physically, he's fine. I've been learning how to heal with waterbending since I was a little kid, you know. And he's been perfectly pleasant all morning. Except to Tenzin, who keeps asking him questions. He says he doesn't need to explain himself to anyone but you,” She looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

 

“Then I guess I'd better go talk to him,” he said, ignoring her look.

 

Visions of a pale, sweating bedridden Tahno, covered in blood, had swum in his vision all night long. The Tahno that turned and smiled at him as he walked into the room looked almost disturbingly healthy. Except for the fact that he was dressed in a plain red tunic and loose pants free of adornment, it was like the night before never happened. Instead of lying on the bed in agony, he was lounging peacefully on the windowsill overlooking Republic City.

 

“My knight in shining armor appears,” he said. Mako's head felt fuzzy again. Why couldn't he keep his mind straight around this guy? It seemed like every time they talked, Tahno spun the conversation around in circles around him. Not this time, he was determined.

 

“Tahno, if you're feeling better, then we have to talk,” he said. The waterbender's smile fell and he walked over and sat on the bed.

 

“You're not even going to let me thank you for what you did?”

 

“We're even now, as far as I'm concerned,” Tahno tsk'ed.

 

“Even, not quite. You still owe me a pair of shoes,”

 

“Oho, do I? And what color would you like them to be, your majesty?”

 

“I'm not sure,” Tahno said, looking at Mako from under heavy lids. Dark circles of smudged eyeliner still ringed his eyes. “I've been growing fond of red lately,”

 

Mako coughed.

 

“Last night you came to the station. How did you know I'd be there?”

 

Tahno shrugged. “I didn't. Anyone would have done. I was sorta desperate, if you hadn't noticed,”

 

Mako sat down next to him. “Tahno. Tell me honestly what happened. I can – we can help you, if you're in over your head or ...something else...”

 

“I know that you know, Mako, and it's not as bad as what I'm sure you're thinking,”

 

“What?”

 

“The big guy from last night, they call him Monster Mitsuru, for more reasons than one. When I woke up this morning and my ass didn't feel like it'd been split in two, I knew something was up.”

 

“Y– but–” Mako stuttered. How could Tahno be so blunt? Logically, as an officer, he knew he'd eventually have to face all sorts of ugly sides to human nature, but his mind was aghast at the way Tahno sat their and described how he'd been sexually assaulted so _flippantly_.

 

“He came to my place last night, demanding – Well, I guess a little backstory is needed, actually...” Tahno sighed and pushed his hair out of his face. “I'm sure you've noticed that I like living at a certain...level of comfort,” he began. Mako thought about the tailored silk clothes, the laborious hair styles, and nodded.

 

“Back when the Wolfbats were at the top of the pro-bending circuit, opportunity just followed us around. Anything I wanted I just had to snap my fingers and it was mine. Food, clothes, girls, guys...and I loved it. I never wanted to give it up. The more we had, the more I wanted. Pretty soon the money we were making from pro-bending wasn't enough for me. So, I started to sleep with people. For money,”

 

He glanced at Mako, as if trying to see what his opinion on that was. Mako steeled his jaw and said nothing.

 

“Wasn't really much of a hardship. I could afford to be choosy about who I let into my bed. It was like getting' paid for something I was going to do anyway. But then...the Equalists.”

 

Tahno looked down at his hands, flexing them experimentally. “Do you know what it's like, not being able to bend?”

 

“I...never went through what you did, but if it's anything like being chi-blocked, then – ” Tahno barked out a laugh.

 

“It's not anything like being chi-blocked. That's like saying a bathtub and the ocean are the same thing. Bending is _so_ much more a part of us than we realize. To have it ripped away so violently...I became so weak. And not only that, but my livelihood was taken away from me too,”

 

Tahno was fully into the story now, speaking as if he were alone in the room. Mako wondered if it was the first time he'd told this to anyone else – it was hard to tell. Tahno wasn't the kind of person to have many close friends.

 

“So I went back to doing the only other thing I was good at. Except now, I couldn't afford to be choosy with my clientele. An' some of em, like Monster Mitsuru, well. They liked it rough. Tying me up and choking, and things like that.” Mako tried so, so hard not to picture what Tahno was describing. “The fact that I lost my bending was even sweeter to them. I was powerless, and they could kick me around and _use_ me as they liked. I just let them. Because as much as I hated them, I hated myself even more. I basically didn't care if I lived or died.”

 

The callous way Tahno said that, so easily dismissed the value of his own existence, disturbed Mako so much that without thinking he reached out and covered one of Tahno's hands with his own. Tahno looked down and then at Mako with wide eyes. “Don't say that, you're – ”

 

“Woah there, lawman, take it easy. Story's not over yet,” he smiled gently, and twined his fingers with Mako's. “But if you wanna hold hands I won't object.” He lifted their joined hands up to his face and placed a playful kiss on Mako's hand.

 

Mako felt like all the blood in his body was rushing to heat his face, but he let their hands remain connected.

 

“Just when I was at my rope's end, a miracle happened. A literal _miracle_ ,” Tahno's eyes shone, “The Avatar saved me. She gave me my bending back, she saved my life. That's what I owe to her. And as for everything else, I swore to myself that I'd turn over a new leaf. I never wanted to go back to that, and I _never_ wanted to feel that powerless at the hands of someone else again.”

 

“But last night?” Tahno shrugged.

 

“A loose end. I'd borrowed quite a bit of money from Mitsuru, and he had come to collect. We negotiated a deal, one night in exchange for a clean slate. All above-board, no funny stuff. It was fine at first. I mean I'd never been fond of sleeping with him – let me tell you something, sometimes having a giant cock just makes it more diff –”

 

“OK! I get it!” Mako interjected in a hurry. Tahno was grinning. He'd said that last part on purpose, just to get Mako riled up.

 

“Anyway, when I say it was fine I mean he was following the rule's I'd set – at first. But before long he got a little rougher than I liked. I told him to stop, he didn't. I tried to get away, but he trapped me there. His accomplice came and helped to hold me down. The more I struggled...well. I got away in the end. Had to bust a pipe in my apartment to do it, but I don't think I'll be going back there anytime soon, in any case.”

 

“Tahno, your ribs were broken. It looked like they bashed your head in with a rock,”

 

“Yeah, they landed a few good hits before I got away. I'm fine now. Just another thing I owe the Avatar for.”

 

“ _How_ can you be so nonchalant about this? They – what they did to you, was beyond wrong. No matter what kind of money you owed them, or – ”

 

“Hey,” Tahno said, quieting him. “While your concern flatters me – more than flatters me, to be honest, I'm practically giddy at the implication – it's not the first time this has happened.”

 

“It will be the last, I'll make sure of it,” Mako said darkly. “I'm going to see both of those men behind bars for what they did.” And he would start now, he thought, springing to his feet, his mind already running ahead of him with plans on what needed to be done. He was taken by surprise when Tahno tightened the grip on his hand and tugged, pulling him back down onto the bed.

 

Tahno leaned over him, his ends of his long fringe brushing against Mako's cheek. “I'd rather you didn't go anywhere right now,” he said, voice pitched low, only for Mako to hear. Mako's pulse raced in his veins. Tahno was so close and he wasn't pushing him away. Instead he was noticing things, like how Tahno's eyes weren't actually grey but a really pale blue, and the Fire Ferrets had always kind of made fun of how small and narrow they were but like this Mako couldn't understand how he'd ever thought that, Tahno's eyes were huge and he was going cross-eyed trying to focus on them.

 

And then Tahno's nose, cold, bumped against his cheek and as Mako's eyes closed seemingly of their own volition he realized that he'd crossed the point of no return. The kiss was simple, just a quick press of lips together, and when Tahno pulled back a second later Mako was embarrassed with the reluctance of his parting. His face burned. Tahno was looking at him seriously through long lashes. “Stay,” Tahno said, rather than asked, but it was not a demand.

 

 _Why?_ he wanted to ask, _why do you want me?_ Every person he'd been with, every relationship he'd started had ended in fighting and flared tempers. Mako was starting to think it was just how he was. And...with a guy...he'd never... he wasn't even...was he?

 

“I can see the cogs turning in your head, lawman.” Tahno said, reaching out to cup a hand on the back of Mako's neck and stroking the skin there. The sensation made Mako shut his eyes and shiver, “Don't think about it too hard. You need a good distraction and I need something good. That should be enough for now, right?”

 

Mako knew he shouldn't. He needed to get back to the station and file a report on all that had happened. He needed to take a cold shower and re-evaluated his life. But Tahno coaxed him gently down, til they were lying beside each other on the bed meant only for one person. He pliantly let himself be rearranged til they were able to reach a comfortable position, Tahno's arm resting across his waist and his own arms tucked against his chest. Their heads tilted together, and Mako could feel Tahno's breath at his temple.

 

It was mid-afternoon. The sounds of the Air Acolytes going about their business was no louder than the wind, or the sound of their own breathing, mixed together in the sun-lit room. He decided to listen to Tahno, and lay his head down on the pillow. He stared up at the ceiling, feeling the rise and fall of Tahno's chest against his hands.

 

Yeah. It was enough.


End file.
